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Buy OnlineGold Medal – New Zealand International Wine Show 2024
Gold Medal – The National Wine Awards Aotearoa New Zealand 2024
Gold Medal – Marlborough Wine Show 2024
Gold Medal – Aotearoa Regional Wine Competitional 2024
Our constant search for the great value Chardonnay occasionally turns up some beauties and we believe this is one of those occasions. The Raptor Chardonnay 2022 is a big and generous style with plenty of ripe fruit and rich creamy characters but what really makes this stand out is the depth and layers of complex, savoury flavours underpinning it all. This Chardonnay is like a hug from a friend that you haven't seen in a while, friendly, cuddly and just makes you feel good. And if that doesn't convince you, the 4 gold medals this has already won should do the trick!
Winery notes (2022 Vintage)
"It’s a beautiful day out, let’s have a picnic. You bring some peaches, and I’ll pack a few little baked spice biscuits, as a treat. I know a spot. It’s an orchard, surrounded by a dry stone wall and a large oak tree. When we get there, we climb up onto the dry stone wall and sit down. We each take a peach, and as we are about to take a bite, we can smell both the peach and the dry stone flint on our hands. Are you getting it? To taste, you have to imagine taking in everything that surrounds us. The juicy ripe peach we’ve just bitten into, the spicy little biscuits, the majestic oak that gives us shade and the bright lemon blossom that covers the trees in the orchard. It’s a moment worth savouring. Shall we open the Chardonnay?
Aromas of fresh nectarine and warm spices. Complex flavours of ripe citrus, cinnamon and hazlenut on the palate. This wine is elegant and complex with a long layered finish. A wild fermentation before spending 9 months in seasoned French oak barriques."
5 Stars & 94/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, July 2024 (2022 Vintage)
"It's splendidly complex and elegant, showing ripe apricot, lemon zest, nougat and almond meal notes on the nose. The palate delivers excellent fruit intensity combined with silky texture and juicy acidity, making it flavoursome and highly attractive. At its best: now to 2029. "
Rated Excellent & 93/100 Cameron Douglas MS, October 2024 (2022 Vintage)
"Bold and richly scented bouquet with aromas of vanilla and roasted peaches, nut and some wood smoke suggestions. Full-bodied on the palate with flavours of cashew nut and stone fruits, grapefruit and vanilla. Textures from fruit and wood tannins are definitive with a decent acid line holding all in place. A lovely richness and weight, core flavours are persistent leading to a nicely complex and dry finish. Ready, with best drinking from day of purchase through 2029."
